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[This is a continuation from Hawaii - Hawaii - Aloha & Honor (Part 3: The Kane). Please read that before this post. Mahalo!]

Finishing the race as we did was a fantastic accomplishment and one that I will consider a highlight of my trip. But note that I said “a” highlight because a few events would still unfold that were right up there in terms of special-ness.

Ikuna Koa Single Hull Race Finishers

An hour or so after the race, we were sitting up in Uncle Dan and Aunt Kim’s room overlooking the race site. We were covered in dried sweat, heavy in the arms, and talking about each one’s experience a little while back. One common quote, “Man I thought we would never get to the finish hotel. It never seemed to get closer!” Apparently I was not the only one feeling like we were paddling to stand still as the big hotel by the finish line loomed on the horizon. At one point, as we were eating star fruit and spam musubi that Esther had made the night before, I turned to Uncle Gus and asked what he thought the chances were of his team having medaled. He replied with an “awwwhh brah” and side to side head shake that indicated “come on man - what you thinking? - we didn’t medal”. Soon however, as we were walking outside to our cars, Uncle Buli, his paddling kumu (teacher and guide) from Maui and someone I was very honored to meet, hollered over to Gus, “eh brah, you get gold medal!”

Man talk about being proud of my teammates. As I have mentioned before, Jeff, Dan, and Gus (the three Ikuna Koa padlers in their canoe) trained harder than any of the kane’ for this race. They paddled long each workout. They hammered the whole way. And they did enough race-starts (painful workout technique) in mid-workout to fatigue even the most seasoned paddlers. And to see their efforts be rewarded with this race finish…just felt right. Jeff, who only signed up originally to go watch and cheer. Dan, who pulses waterman blood with medals in paddle boarding and surfing, yet is more ha’a ha’a (humble) than anyone you’ll meet. Gus, the guy who has wanted the honor of steering a koa canoe in Hawaii for years and enabled this whole trip and experience for us. After 3rd place and 2nd place were called, the announcer then read off the place and team name. “First Place” … “Ikuna Koa!” Our team name sounded so sweet. The translation of “Victory and Strength” has never sounded so appropriate and I am sure those there who spoke Hawaiian agreed. In addition to medals though, in their eyes, the canoe was honored.

Koa Masters 1st Place

The next day, after a night of hanging out in downtown Kona, taking part in the torch parade (all the paddlers carry torches through the town for spectators to see) and stumbling through our weariness from a day of sun and racing, we again assembled at the race site. This time for the double hull races. Imagine a canoe, and strapped alongside in place of an ama, is another canoe. 12 paddlers all in perfect time (in theory) paddling all out for 5 miles. It is intense.

We were entered for co-ed double hull that day at noon. Our wahine and kane would get the honor of paddling together to finish the racing portion of the trip. Nobody took the race as serious as the day before as this would be a fun paddle….at least, that was before the flag dropped and the race began…but I’m still getting to that. You see, we were one wahine paddler short of fielding an eligible team.

If only we could find someone naive enough to subject themselves to 35 minutes of grueling pain. To race in the middle of the hot day. Enter my lovely wife. With no paddling experience and no idea how much the race might hurt to make her regret the decision, Stefanie agreed to be our twelfth paddler and complete our double hull ohana. She realized this was an opportunity that was special and an honor to be asked to partake in, not to mention we needed her to be eligible. She also had her concerns quelled from Uncle Gus that she would not be a detriment to the team and cause us to lose due to her experience. So with a crash course in paddling 1 hour before the race (”this end goes in the water…”, ok not that bad but we did have to teach her some basic technique and changeover stuff) and everyone on the team very very very supportive, Stefanie donned a red Ikuna Koa jersey and completed our team.

Stefanie and Kim. Our amazing supporters the whole time!

The double hull race was painful. In fact it hurt so bad for me that I swore off paddling for the first 15 minutes of the race with each stroke. My efforts from the previous day’s race were felt with each twist and pull of the paddle and somehow this hurt just as much. The first few miles were bumping and jostling as 35 canoes sprinted out of the starting line very close to each other and the kapenas were struggling to control twice the canoe they were used to with twice the engine. The water was a choppy mess with all the paddles entering. As we came upon the halfway mark of the race, and turned at a few buoys to return home, the pain subsided a bit and my body had gotten warmed up. Around us were a few canoes and suddenly it became a full on race to beat those nearby. With our 1st captain Gus and 2nd captain Esther leading from the rear, and 2.5 miles to go, we began the mad sprint dash to the finish line. Not knowing how many canoes may be behind us (if any), I looked at the ones beside us being essential to beat.

We sprinted home. Members of our canoe yelling encouragement as we paddled. Our captains yelling instructions. Each person vital to passing and holding off the competition. Man what a feeling adrenaline can generate. I went from tired, sore, and ready to jump out of this double rigged contraption and swim home to San Diego to digging harder and stronger and feeling every bit of energy I could muster being greedily pulled into my paddle. Our canoe was flying and the finish line was close by. We were racing alongside Team Shonan from Japan. Uncle Dan had told us great stories of how much respect that team felt for the culture of Hawaiian outrigger canoe. Being next to them was special in itself. And we were racing them for the finish. In the end…
1 Team Steinlager 28:39
…
17 Ikuna Koa 33:49
18 Keola O Ke Kai 33:51
19 Shonan Outrigger 33:53
…
31 — — 39:14

We finished right in the middle of the pack. And the honorable teams we were battling for the finish line, we eeked ahead of just barely….in large part to every person in our canoe digging deep within themselves and leaving all they had in the canoe! When we finished the race, I looked over my shoulder and saw in the back of the canoe the most exhausted, sweaty, beautiful and grateful paddler I have ever had as a teammate. This was a very special moment for me that I still get emotional thinking about as I type this. From the biggest paddling fan and supporter a husband could ask for to paddling in Hawaii with me in a race (and according to Esther and Gus “did pretty good”) Stefanie had completed, and competed the 2009 Queen Liliuokalani Mixed Double Hull race.

She promptly retired when we got back to shore.

——-

The rest of our trip was kind of a wind down from the excitement. Stefanie and I spent the last day with the team cleaning up the house, packing, and saying mahaloz and good-bye. We were all so grateful for the bonding experience and honor we shared. The last morning before we all went our separate ways, everyone took took the beautiful leis we had been wearing the day prior and gave them gently back to the ocean. Individually pulling off the flowers and placing them on the ocean’s surface at the beach by our hale (house). Giving back to the aina (land) and the kai (sea) what they so selflessly gave to us.

Giving it back

Our hugs good-bye to everyone were heartfelt and long. We closed the car doors, and slowly drove away to see what the other half of the island might share with us for two days before we flew back home to San Diego.

—

Clarke, Mark, Kahuna at Momi’s family waterfalls

Fresh coconut, does it get any better?

The first of the days was spent with friends in Hilo who made every effort to make us feel welcome and loved. Stefanie and I were escorted by our friend Mark to many special places, to see old beautiful wa’a (canoes) being restored, and huge fallen koa trees that were destined to be beautiful canoes someday. We were invited into home’s of his friends for food and story. We were given fresh grown pineapple and enjoyed the company of Mark and his lovely wife Momi (Pearl). These are two very very special people. Mark introduced canoing to me several years back and thereby lit a fire within. The ancient sport had come full circle for me as I got to share with him my enthusiasm and passion for canoe that he had instilled in me. We were taken to a special place on Momi’s family land with a beautiful waterfall. An honor both Stefanie and I will always cherish. After swimming in the waters and climbing back up the rope ladder to the top area, Mark grabbed a machete from his truck and cut open the freshest, sweetest coconut imaginable for us to drink and eat on the pali (cliffs) overlooking the ocean.

Looking small next to a koa tree

Koa canoe restoration and building

Leaving town the next day, we found a cool building on the side of the road with a sign that read “wood carvings”. I am a big fan of artisans and this man’s workshop surrounded us with beautiful honu (turtles), waves, candle sticks, dolphins and paddles he had carved from koa over the years. His daughter worked the register and together they told us about their family business tucked away off the main roads and tourist traps. They kindly helped a local boy who wanted to buy something for his mother’s birthday. Stefanie and I did some special last minute gift shopping with them and left gratified knowing we had stumbled on a special place.

Our last day was spent on the top most portion of the island, North Kohala. My friend and former co-worker Cheri moved there with her son and had invited us to come stay. We went on some wonderful hikes, enjoyed the company of her and her family, and ate breadfruit French fries for our last Hawaiian meal.

North Kohala

In the end, as we flew back to San Diego, I was tired but fulfilled. This trip was a climax of my outrigger season. A season that opened up new friendships. New appreciation of Hawaiian culture. New challenges. I was fortunate to have been able to go to Hawaii to have it all peak for me in one week. I try not to take opportunities like this for granted. And I promise I will continue to spread aloha in thanks for the gifts I was given. So to all of you reading this…please do the same next time you are in Hawaii…

• Think about those who have been there long before our modern fiberglass canoes entered the water.
• Think about honoring a koa canoe when blessed to travel in one with 100% effort as our master crew did.
• Think about finishing a race with honor, despite unfortunate and daunting circumstances, as our wahine did.
• Think about looking back in a canoe at teammates you just shared something special with, knowing each person feels aloha and gratitude.

Then when you are done. Say “mahalo”.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am and is filed under General, Recreation, Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.